One day down, three to go. Hotel Vegan opens again today at noon in Austin. Full Thursday lineup and set times HERE.

Friday info HERE. Saturday info HERE.

photos by Chris La Putt

Django Django @ Santos Party House

Two nights after the BV/Popgun-presented show at Glasslands, Django Django played another BV/Popgun/Neon Gold show at Santos Party House on Monday night (3/12) with Charli XCX and Clock Opera who were at Knitting Factory on Saturday. Here are some pictures from the Santos show.

All three bands are now in Austin for SXSW, and you can catch Django Django at Hotel Vegan on Friday. Meanwhile Hotel Vegan continues (at Hotel Vegas - 1500 E. 6th St in Austin) TODAY (3/15) at noon. Links to all BrooklynVegan events at SXSW at Brooklynvegan.com/SXSW.

More pictures from the NYC show below...

Continue reading "Django Django played Santos Party House w/ Charli XCX & Clock Opera (pics), playing Hotel Vegan @ SXSW"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Ringo Deathstarr - Shadow (MP3)

Ringo Deathstarr at SXSW 2011

Austin shoegazers Ringo Deathstarr made one of my favorite albums of last year, Colour Trip, and are back with an all new EP titled Shadow which is out today on Sonic Unyon. We've got the MP3 premiere of the title track -- a groovy little number with shouty guest vocals from Trail of Dead's Jason Reece. You can also stream the track below.

Ringo Deathstarr are one of the many bands playing tomorrow at Hotel Vegan in Austin, so if you're down there for SXSW do stop by. They're on at 2:30PM on the BV Austin stage. It's free, no badges or wristbands or RSVPing necessary. Full Thursday line-up is here.

Continue reading "Ringo Deathstarr release new EP (MP3 premiere), playing Hotel Vegan in Austin"

New Build at Mercury Lounge last night (photo by fryde_drexler)...

today in NYC
* Jovanotti @ Bowery Ballroom
* Jackie Greene @ City Winery
* The Danny Fox Trio @ Barbes
* Hazel-Rah, Ruler @ Vaudeville Park
* Sylvie Courvoisier Trio @ The Stone
* Allman Brothers Band @ Beacon Theatre
* Lemonade, Tezeo, Faith @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Wolf!, Ensemble Ku, Nass Gnawa @ Zebulon
* The Stationary Set, Monogold @ Cameo Gallery
* Elliott Brood, The Pack A.D., Pet Lions @ Pianos
* Onelinedrawing, Sara Syms @ Mercury Lounge
* Rosetta, Kings Destroy, Hollow Leg, Clamfight @ Saint Vitus
* Michael Jaeger, Philipp Schaufelberger, Tom Rainey @ The Stone
* Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames @ Webster Hall
* John K Samson and the Provincial Band, Shotgun Jimmie @ Maxwell's
* Albert Goold, The Sons of Rage and Love, Graffitti Sunshine @ Cake Shop
* The Art of Shooting, Hello Phones, Leslie Hong, Beach Moms @ Death By Audio
* New Build, Professor Genius @ Mercury Lounge

We're all in Austin seeing and throwing an insane amount of shows right now. If you're there, #HotelVegan begins today at noon. Official showcase tonight at Bar 96. flyers below.

Follow @bvSXSW on Twitter. Check BVAustin.net and BrooklynVegan.com/SXSW

We'll be helping T-Mobile judge a photo contest that could win you tickets (plane ticket included) to a festival in the Coachella Valley.

Squarepusher plays Webster Hall Thursday.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

The above flyer for "Hotel Vegan", located at Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge (1500 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX), is just a fraction of what we have going on in Austin this week.

Check out the full Hotel Vegan lineups for WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY, and get more info on all BV events at >BrooklynVegan.com/SXSW

See you TONIGHT (3/13) for our Daniel Johnston event at the Belmont.

Follow @bvSXSW on Twitter to follow along, and @bvAustin too.

words by Klaus Kinski, photos by Sarah Coulter and Maclyn Bean

All Pigs Must Die (by Sarah Coulter)

On Friday March 9th, I toddled over to the Knitting Factory to see the triple bill featuring Clean Teeth, All Pigs Must Die, and Narrows. To be honest, All Pigs Must Die was literally the only reason for my being at that show, but the acts that book-ended them made me glad I got there early and left late.

Cleanteeth blasted off pretty much at 9pm on the nose. This particular show marked the first for their new drummer, who absolutely dominated the kit with incredible skill and aggression. The band was really great; they were heavy as hell and lacked a lot of the slow plodding monotony a lot of metal bands suffer from nowadays. It drives me absolutely fucking crazy that metal bands feel the need to drop their guitars down to some low ass note such as B; as though that somehow makes them heavier. Weren't the guitars on Obituary's Slowly We Rot, one of the heaviest albums to come out of the late 80s/early 90s metal scene, tuned to a standard E tuning? Yes. They were. Write heavy songs and stop leaning on the cliche low tuning crutch people. Anywho, Clean Teeth were great! They had my massive bald skull banging, that's for sure.

Next up was the centerpiece of the evening (for me), All Pigs Must Die. As a person very much into the whole late 80s, early 90s death metal stuff, newer metal is a lot harder for me to get into. There's is a lot of horseshit bands out there, bands who are covered in ink copping nice vintage gear and huge stacks and essentially just looking the part and producing nothing worth anyone's time. APMD, on the other hand, are the real article, creating some of the heaviest music to hit my ear drums in a loooong time. Sonically, they encompass a lot of elements that your man Klaus can't get enough of; speed and vocals bordering on Sick of it All, a guitar tone that reminds of me Entombed's monumental debut record Left Hand Path, and a dash of good old fashioned hardcore, grindcore, thrash, and death metal. I have missed every single NYC-area APMD since I saw their debut show at Union Pool in January 2011, so this was a show I had been looking forward to big time. Few front men have the power and presence of Kevin Baker. I've met him twice off stage and he couldn't have been nicer, but onstage he is the epitome of fury. If there was ever to be a systematic destruction of earth, whoever is in charge of the project should hire Kevin as project foreman. As he screams his way through the songs, his body language gives off the impression that he is about 1 second away from snapping and destroying everyone in the room. This was the first part of the evening where the crowd sort of woke up and started shoving which was good on two scores; first, it's great to see a typically flaccid NYC crowd actually get cranked about something. Second, someone dropped 10 bucks which I promptly ganked and used to buy an APMD shirt. Thanks, whoever you are!

Last up was Narrows who really shut things down with a big sweaty bang. Holy. I've been a huge fan of Botch forever, so for a Dave Verellen project to be happening in my backyard (with APMD no less) was double dope. What a phenomenal band to follow up APMD. I don't want to trivialize what they do by comparing them to other acts or bringing up their related projects, but Narrows is absolutely crushing. Do yourself a favor and seek them out any way you can; buy their shit, look at their vids on youtube... I cannot think of a better pairing than APMD and Narrows.

--

APMD and Narrows play together again at the BV-BBG/Thrasher/Power of The Riff Official Showcase at Scoot Inn on 3/16, part of an all day BV/POTR event at the venue. Narrows will ALSO play the BV/Chaos in Tejas bridge show scheduled for the night of 3/15 at 2AM with Regents, Darkest Hour, and a special "Nighttime" guest. Make sure and see that bridge show... don't sleep!

More pictures from Knitting Factory below...

Continue reading "Narrows & All Pigs Must Die played Knitting Factory w/ Cleanteeth (pics, video), playing BV-SXSW"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo; words by Bill Pearis

Daughter @ Glasslands

UK trio Daughter had their first U.S. shows this past weekend playing Mercury Lounge on Friday (3/9) and Glasslands on Saturday (3/10). I made it to the latter which happened prior to the BV-presented Django Django show.

In essence, Daughter is a showcase for the talents of singer/songwriter Elena Tonra who spoke with nervous laughter and a wry sense of humor which offset the sometimes dour natures of her lyrics. "This song is about death," was how she intro'd "Landfill," the lead track off Daughter's His Young Heart which just came out on bigshot indie label Glassnote (Mumford & Sons, Phoenix). Tonra's breathy delivery fits well with her delicate fingerpicking skills and minor chord melodies, but it was her band that elevated it above the overcrowded folk millieu. Guitarist Igor Haefeli had a bank of pedals at his feet, favoring spooky atmospherics over traditional lead parts, and even used a bow at one point to great effect. Drummer Remi Aguilella kept it simple, though on a couple songs played bass at the same time. "Love," which closes the His Young Heart EP, was especially impressive with an extended outro which you could imagine getting a killer trance/house remix. Somebody do that please.

Daughter's in Austin now for SXSW fun, including our Hotel Vegan day party on Friday (1PM) that also sports Widowspeak, Django Django, Nardwuar's band The Evaporators, TRUST, The Black Angels, Youth Lagoon and lots more. If you're in Austin, do try and catch them even if its not at our thing.

Back to the Glasslands show, I missed Icelandic opener Lay Low, though I had seen them at M for Montreal in 2010. Dominick did, however, and got some nice pictures which you can see below, along with more photos of Daughter. There's also video of Daughter's entire Mercury Lounge show (shot by iwaseasymeat) down there as well. Check it out....

Continue reading "Daughter played Glasslands with Lay Low (pics) & Mercury Lounge (video), playing BV-SXSW"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is taking over ALL THREE STAGES at connecting Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT this week, and it's all 100% FREE (no RSVP or badges either). There's a big outdoor stage, and smaller stages inside Hotel Vegas & Volstead. Collectively we're calling the four day long party "Hotel Vegan" (located at 1500 E. 6th St, Austin, TX).

Friday's party is presented with HobNob Wines, our official wine partner of all four days of Hotel Vegan, and The Original Moonshine, our official spirit partner on Friday and Saturday.

We announced Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday in full.
Here is Friday at Hotel Vegan (March 16, 2012):

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 Cold Showers
1:00 Polica
2:00 Youth Lagoon
3:00 Eight and a Half (members of Broken Social Scene & the Stills)
3:45 Django Django
4:30 Tennis
5:15 Light Asylum
6:00 The Black Angels

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside)
12:00 Lucius
12:45 The Big Sleep
1:30 The Twilight Sad
2:15 Eleanor Friedberger (of the Fiery Furnaces)
3:00 Widowspeak
3:45 TRUST
4:30 The Evaporators (Nardwuar's band)
5:15 DIVE

Stage 3 (Volstead)
12:15 Jennifer Castle
1:00 Daughter
1:45 Exitmusic
2:30 Doldrums
3:15 Zeus
4:00 Au Palais
5:00 Craft Spells

We will also have free vegan treats courtesy of NadaMoo! and free Honest Tea. Arlo's great Vegan Food truck, located right next door, will be at all four days of Hotel Vegan selling food.

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners.

--
The Black Angels (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

HobNob Wines offers free music content at its HobNob Inner Circle on Facebook. Join HobNob's Inner Circle to access exclusive downloads, editorial and info on upcoming events. Previously featured artists include Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Saint Bernadette, The Antlers, Company of Thieves, Xylos, as well as The Black Angels and Polica who are both playing this party.

-----

Friday is just one of four full days at Hotel Vegan. Wednesday lineup HERE. Thursday lineup HERE. Saturday lineup HERE.

We also have THREE official BrooklynVegan showcases - Tuesday (which Alex Maas of the Black Angels is playing a song at), Wednesday, and Friday - and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys, AND a bridge show.

UPDATE: Okkervil River added!

DOWNLOAD: Fat Tony - Wife Plot (MP3)

pictured: Diamond Rugs, Action Bronson & eXquire

As you know, BrooklynVegan is taking over ALL THREE STAGES at connecting Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT this week, and it's all 100% FREE (no RSVP or badges either). There's a big outdoor stage, and smaller stages inside Hotel Vegas & Volstead. Collectively we're calling the four day long party "Hotel Vegan" (located at 1500 E. 6th St, Austin, TX).

We announced Wednesday and Thursday in full. Friday is coming. Now finally here isSaturday at Hotel Vegan (March 17, 2012)

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 Field Report
12:45 Ivan & Alyosha
1:30 Father John Misty (J Tilman, ex-Fleet Foxes)
2:15 J. Roddy Walston
3:00 Lucero
4:00 Heartless Bastards
5:00 Diamond Rugs (John McCauley of Deer Tick w/ members of Los Lobos, Black Lips & more)
6:00 Okkervil River (Just added!)

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside) (hip hop stage)
12:15 - Lushlife
01:00 - Main Attrakionz
01:45 - Cadence Weapon
02:30 - Rittz
03:15 - Fat Tony
04:00 - Spaceghostpurrp
04:45 - Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire
05:30 - Action Bronson

Stage 3 (Volstead)
12:00 - Patrolled By Radar
1:00 - Emily Wells
2:00 - Phantom Family Halo
2:45 - Lumerians
3:30 - Hundred Visions
4:15 - Pond (mem. of Tame Impala)
5:00 - GUARDS

In addition to the completely FREE lineup of great music, we will also have complimentary drinks courtesy of HobNob Wines, our official wine partner and The Original Moonshine, our official spirit partner. We will also have FREE VEGAN TREATS courtesy of NadaMoo! and FREE Honest Tea. Arlo's great Vegan Food truck, located right next door, will be at all four days of Hotel Vegan selling food.

And we'll have some awesome giveaways from Partisan and KF Records, as well as cassette compilations from Young One Records (Including the above track "Wife Plot" by Fat Tony).

Listen to a playlist of artists playing this party on Spotify.

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners, as well as ASCAP, HobNob Wines, The Original Moonshine, NadaMoo!, Honest Tea, Partisan Records, KF Records & Young One Records!

------

This is just one of four full days at Hotel Vegan. Wednesday lineup HERE. Thursday lineup HERE. Friday coming in a second.

We also have THREE official BrooklynVegan showcases (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys, AND a just-announced bridge show.

Continue reading "full Hotel Vegan Saturday lineup (BV/Partisan/KF/Young One present Heartless Bastards, Lucero, Action Bronson & more)"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is taking over ALL THREE STAGES at connecting Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT this week, and it's all 100% FREE (no RSVP or badges either). There's a big outdoor stage, and smaller stages inside Hotel Vegas & Volstead. Collectively we're calling the four day long party "Hotel Vegan" (located at 1500 E. 6th St, Austin, TX).

We announced Thursday, Friday, and Saturday too. Here is Wednesday: Wednesday at Hotel Vegan (March 14, 2012)

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 PM - Devin
12:45 PM - Big Deal
1:30 PM - Pujol
2:15 PM - We are Augustines
2:50 PM - Sun Araw Band (live) + Matthewdavid (DJ Set)
3:45 PM - Frankie Rose
4:30 PM - Japandroids
5:15 PM - Bear in Heaven

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside) (BBG Stage)
12:10 PM - Freshkills
12:50 PM - White Ring
1:35 PM - The Coathangers
2:20 PM - Razika
3:05 PM - Chelsea Wolfe
3:50 PM - Deafheaven
4:35 PM - Bleached
5:20 PM - Future Of The Left

Stage 3 (Volstead) (BV Chicago stage)
12:00 PM - Minor Characters
12:35 PM - Gypsyblood
01:15 PM - FIELDED
02:00 PM - White Mystery
02:45 PM - Maps & Atlases
03:30 PM - The-Drum
04:15 PM - Flosstradamus
05:00 PM - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

And in addition to the completely free lineup of 24 bands playing on THREE stages, we will also have complimentary drinks courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery (while supplies laset) and HobNob Wines, the official wine parter of our entire week of FREE PARTIES at Hotel Vegan (check out HobNob's Facebook page for free music downloads), and a hosted bar courtesy of Sailor Jerry

We will also have FREE VEGAN TREATS courtesy of NadaMoo! and FREE Honest Tea. Arlo's great Vegan Food truck, located right next door, will be at all four days of Hotel Vegan selling food.

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners. And special thanks to Tim Griffin for making our Hotel Vegan flyer.

--

This just one of four full days at Hotel Vegan. Thursday lineup HERE. Saturday lineup HERE. Friday lineup HERE.

We also have THREE official showcases (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys, AND a just-announced bridge show.

photos by Chris La Putt

Charli XCX @ Knitting Factory

Pre-SXSW festivities are underway in NYC and three of the buzziest bands here from Europe shared a bill at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn Saturday night (3/10). Those three bands were the Sub Pop-signed Niki & the Dove (from Stockholm), London's Charli XCX (who plays again at Santos Monday night and at the
Pitchfork showcase at SXSW), and England's Clock Opera (who also plays again at Santos Monday night). NYC's Ghost Beach opened the show, and like the rest, are headed to Texas this week. Here are some pictures from the Brooklyn show. More below...

Continue reading "Niki & the Dove, Charli XCX, Clock Opera & Ghost Beach played Knitting Factory (pics)"

the flyer (with most of the bands playing on it)

BrooklynVegan is proud to team up with M for Montreal again for a FREE Day Party in Austin on Thursday, March 15th from noon-7pm at Hotel Vegan (one of BrooklynVegan's FOUR DAYS in the venue located at 1500 E. 6th St.).

I'll let this full three-stage lineup speak for itself...

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 Of Monsters & Men
12:45 Glen Hansard (of Swell Season & the Frames)
1:30 We Are Serenades (formerly Serenades, mem. Shout Out Louds)
2:15 Hospitality
3:00 Korallreven (mem. of the Radio Dept)
3:45 Fanfarlo
4:30 The Drums
5:15 The Wedding Present
6:15 This Will Destroy You

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside)
12:00 Half Moon Run
12:45 Thus:Owls
1:30 Cold Specks
2:15 Cymbals Eat Guitars
3:00 The Velvet Teen
3:45 Yellow Ostrich
4:30 The Jealous Sound
5:15 Parlovr

Stage 3 (Volstead) (BV Austin stage)
12:15 Love Inks
1:00 Feathers
1:45 Gashcat
2:30 Ringo Deathstarr
3:15 Silent Diane
4:00 The Young
5:00 Ume

In addition to the completely free lineup of 24 bands playing on THREE stages, we will also have complimentary drinks courtesy of HobNob Wines, the official wine parter of our entire week of FREE PARTIES at Hotel Vegan (check out HobNob's Facebook page for free music downloads), and a hosted bar courtesy of Sailor Jerry

We will also have FREE VEGAN TREATS courtesy of NadaMoo! and FREE Honest Tea. AND Supercuts will have a team of stylists on-site the entire day providing FREE haircuts and styling!

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners, as well as ASCAP, HobNob Wines, NadaMoo!, Sailor Jerry and M for Montreal! And special thanks to GBH Design for making our awesome flyer!

--

This is the first full day at Hotel Vegan announced. 2/3 of the Wednesday lineup is HERE. Friday and Saturday coming shortly.

We also have THREE official showcases (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys,

Bruce Sprinsgteen & the E Street Band play a private SiriusXM show at the Apollo tonight (3/9). If you're not one of the lucky that got, or won, a ticket from the satellite radio provider, you can always listen on E-Street Radio (if you are a subscriber).

Lionel Richie (!) will be honored at the same Harlem venue on June 4th as part of the Apollo Spring Gala 2012. As you can imagine, tickets are not cheap. They go on sale to the general public Sunday morning.

Lionel Richie is also playing SXSW this month. So is Bruce (and both at ACL Live's Moody Theater where Radiohead just taped an episode of the Austin City Limits TV show). Jay-Z plays there during SXSW too.

As previously mentioned, aside from THREE official showcases (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and a Saturday metal day party, BrooklynVegan will be at Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge in Austin (1500 East 6th St.) for four full days on three stages per day! We're calling it "Hotel Vegan" and it's all 100% FREE.

As usual, we're announcing the lineups last minute, so get ready. Meanwhile, we've been leaking bands in lots of different posts, and we just announced two of the three stages happening Wednesday courtesy of BBG and BV Chicago. Stay tuned for the rest soon!

Ramona Falls, which is now the main project of Brent Knopf, who left Menomena last year, will release their new album Prophet on May 1 via Barsuk. You can grab the first single, "Spore," via a widget below. The album art and tracklist are also below.

Ramona Falls will be at SXSW next week and will head out on a tour in support of the album in the spring. That tour includes NYC shows happening on June 13 at Glasslands and June 14 at Mercury Lounge. Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now and tickets for the Mercury show go on sale Friday, 3/16 at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (3/14) at noon.

All dates, album art, tracklist and widget below...

Continue reading "Ramona Falls announces new LP & tour (dates & new song)"

click HERE for a bigger version of the above flyer.

Hinted at and posted in some form on SXSW's website recently, but now offically announced... BrooklynVegan had the honor of helping put together what will be a very special show happening this Tuesday, March 13, 2012 in Austin as part of SXSW at the Belmont in honor of muiti-talented artist Daniel Johnston's very first comic book "Space Ducks", or more specifically to help celebrate the release of the FREE iPad app version that is coming first, new Daniel Johnston songs and tributes to him included. Read more about the forthcoming app and partially-Kickstarter funded graphic novel, which you can PRE-ORDER NOW, at the end of this post.

The party, big flyer HERE, is open to all SXSW badgeholders. Get there early for drink specials courtesy of Original Moonshine, Tecate and Republic Tequilia, and to experience the entire night of special sets. There will be Daniel Johnston covers and tributes throughout, with co-headlining performances by Daniel Johnston and Built to Spill. It will go like this:

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ the Belmont, Austin, TX
8:00 Dinosaur Feathers
8:40 special guest (a band we're not allowed to announce)
9:25 R. Stevie Moore
9:55 Jeffrey Lewis
10:25 Kimya Dawson
11:10 Will Sheff of Okkervil River
11:35 Foy Vance
11:40 Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit
11:45 Alex Maas of the Black Angels
11:55 Daniel Johnston & Motopony
01:05 Built to Spill

This show is happening one night before the BrooklynVegan official SXSW showcase at Bar 96 which is two nights before the BrooklynVegan/Power of the Riff official SXSW showcase at Scoot Inn.

Learn more about Space Ducks, and others who had a hand in this all, below...

Continue reading "BV Presents Daniel Johnston's 'Space Ducks' SXSW Launch Party w/ Daniel, Built to Spill & many more performing"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Metz - Negative Space (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Teenager - Cops (But Not) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Daughter - Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Marble - Pretender (MP3)

Django Django

There is so much going on between now and Tuesday (2/13), I'm breaking This Week in Indie into two parts. Today you get Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday, then tomorrow will be Pt 2 with more Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. For those of you who aren't going to Austin next week (and I know most people aren't even if it seems otherwise sometimes reading the internet) you get a chance to sample some of the international action with bands from all over the world in town before (and after) the fest. I should warn you there are a lot of bands who spell their names with all-caps in the post. I am not shouting at you.

First thing, we're giving away a pair of tickets to Django Django's sold-out U.S. debut at Glasslands Saturday night which BrooklynVegan is presenting with Popgun Booking. For your chance to win, just send an email with your name and the subject DJANGO DJANGO to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM and we'll pick a winner at random tomorrow. Remember, it's a late show (doors at 11:30PM) and you must be 21+.

I'm pretty psyched for this show. Their debut album is out now digitally (and on Spotify) in the U.S. and is one of my favorites of 2012: danceable, melodic, trippy and organic, owing more than a little to fellow Scots The Beta Band. (Go figure: main Django Dave Maclean's older brother John was in the Betas and The Aliens.) Says The Guardian:

Those worried that British guitar music has lost its ability to refresh old forms should pay heed to Django Django, whose debut album posits an updated psychedelia that beguiles and delights. Their foundations are a rickety, minimal take on the music of the immediate pre-psychedelic era - Hail Bop employs heavily tremeloed surf guitar; Default takes Bo Diddley's shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits beat and bolts on a jerky R&B guitar line - over which are laid skittering electronics and bleached, vibratoless harmonies, as if Django Django's four members were supplicants worshipping the desert sunrise. Yet it's also an exercise in clever restraint: drummer and band mastermind David Maclean often eschews everything bar his kick drum, floor tom, cymbals and tambourines, creating an amniotic throb.

Daughter

Playing Glasslands earlier in the night on Saturday (a separate show) is another UK act, Daughter, who also play an early show the night before (3/9) at Mercury Lounge and our Friday day party at Hotel Vegas at SXSW. Originally a solo project for UK singer-songwriter Elena Tonra, Daughter is now a proper band with electric guitarist (and Tonra's boyfriend) Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella. The band just signed to Glassnote who released Daughter's new EP, His Young Heart, which is streamable at the bottom of this post. (You can also download the EP's closing track at the top of this post.) Fans of Sharon Van Etten, Mountain Man and other spooky folk acts should not miss them.

METZ at M for Montreal 2010

Backing up a bit to tonight (3/8) and shifting gears entirely, Toronto trio METZ make their NYC debut at Cake Shop. These guys make blazing, spazzy noise rock, reminiscent of Brainiac, the roster of Amphetamine Reptile, or McLusky. They're pretty excellent in their din, with enough form and hooks to grab hold of too. The band only have a few singles under their belt (all of which you can stream/download for free at their Bandcamp) but their debut album is in the can waiting for some lucky label to release it.

METZ are down visiting our city with their neighbors Teenanger whose debut album, Frights, is a 9-song, 20-minute kick in the head that may remind some of The Hives or The Intelligence. There's a lot of snarl and sneer, and the production is great -- clear but not slick. The whole of Frights is streaming over at Canadian website Exclaim!. You can also download a track above and watch a couple videos (both are pretty cool) at the bottom of this post.

Tonight's Cake Shop show, METZ and Teenanger are the first two bands on the bill so you might get out of there by 11 if you've got somewhere else to go. Tomorrow night (3/9), they both play Death By Audio with Pop. 1280 making for a very appealing, angsty bill.

TRUST

More Canadians in town, this time on the electronic tip: TRUST and Doldrums who play a late show tonight (3/8) at Mercury Lounge and an early show at Glasslands tomorrow (3/9). After that it's off to Austin (where TRUST is also on the bill of our Friday day party at Hotel Vegas), and then some West Coast dates, a few of which are with Blood Orange. All dates, including many SXSW-week appearances, are at the bottom of this post.

TRUST, a duo consisting of is Austra drummer Maya Postepski and vocalist Robert Alfons, make vaguely gothy/sleazy synth pop that you could imagine being danced to in warehouses in 1987. The sleaze is apparent with song titles like "Candy Walls," "Gloryhole" and "This Willing Flesh." Musically, I dig TRUST but Alfons sounds more than a little like Bill Hader's Vincent Price impression which makes the whole thing borderline novelty. Their debut, TRST, is out now on Arts & Crafts and you can stream it on Spotify. I bet it sounds great in a club, though, and will say the vocals are less egregious live, and will say I thought TRUST was good last year when I saw them open for Austra.

Doldrums

Doldrums is Toronto resident Alrick Woodhead who guests on Grimes' Visions and will soon be touring with Bear in Heaven. I've seen him perform a few times, like at M for Montreal where I wrote:

(Doldrums) was wonderfully ADD, twiddling knobs, hammering sample triggers and pacing around the stage. Too many ideas crammed into one 20-minute set? Maybe, but it was exciting seeing talent that is only just now beginning to show its potential.

The Glasslands show on Friday is also with Black Marble, a new musical venture from a couple of the Team Robspierre dudes that definitely falls in the minimal wave pigeonhole. Their Weight Against the Door EP came out last month on Hardly Art last month

TEETH

Later that night at Glasslands its a separate show, with UK electro rockers TEETH. TEETH's debut album, Whatever, came out last year on Moshi Moshi and garnered favorable reviews and comparisons to Crystal Castles and Ponytail. It's loud. It's squelchy. It sounds like being off your face which is probably the optimal way to listen to them. You can stream Whatever on Spotify. The show (doors 11:30) also has Extreme Animals, Nike7Up, and a DJ set from True Womanhood so be ready to go all night.

Okay that's the big stuff for TWII Pt. 1. Tomorrow we'll talk Charli XCX, 2:54, Razika, New Build and more. Below are few more day-by-day show picks for things not covered above.

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Computer Magic

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

It's a fun night of dancey electronic music when those Kitsune folks (they of the many Maison compilations) bring Gigamesh, Plastic Plates, Computer Magic, Perseus, and JDH to Santos.

Street Gnar, BITCHES, Radical Dads, and Newport Reds are at Shea Stadium

continued below...

Continue reading "Django Django, Daughter, METZ, Teenanger, TRUST, Doldrums, TEETH, Datarock & more in This Week in Indie"

Laughing Squid writes:

Dan The Automator fans should get goosebumps while watching this preview for his new Pillowfight project with singer Emily Wells. The upcoming album, due later this year, also features scratches by Kid Koala (who's worked with Dan past project such at Lovage and Deltron 3030) and well as visuals by David Choe.

Wells has been previewing some Pillowfight songs during some recent shows with Kid Koala (see video below). I'm digging the mix of soulful vocals with Dan's catchy beats. It's somewhat reminiscent of his Handsome Boy Modelling School track with Chan Marshall of Cat Power.

Kid Koala will be part of the group at SXSW, as will Emily Wells (who plays a BrooklynVegan day party later in the week, on Saturday to be exact). Emily headlines Bowery Ballroom in April as part of a recently announced tour in support of a new album.

Not long after SXSW, and after some dates in Canada and France, Kid Koala will come to NYC for the previously mentioned headphone concerts, except what was two shows, is now THREE. An April 4th early show was added and is on sale now (tickets for the late show and the day-before show are also still on sale).

All dates and those videos below...

Continue reading "Kid Koala adds 3rd Brooklyn show, playing SXSW w/ Dan the Automator & Emily Wells as PILLOWFIGHT (dates)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Sarah Jaffe kicked off a round of US dates in NYC at Mercury Lounge in NYC on Feb 22nd. Here are some pictures from that show where she debuted some of the new material on her forthcoming LP The Body Wins (due on April 24).

She's now on tour on the West Coast with Yim Yames, Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, and Anders Parker who are performing music from their new Woody Guthrie project. She does not however tour with them all the way to NYC where they headline a show at Webster Hall with support from Bobby Bare Jr. Tickets are still available for that.

Sarah completes her current round of dates at SXSW. They're all listed, with the rest of the pictures and her new video, below...

Continue reading "Sarah Jaffe played Mercury Lounge (pics), touring w/ Jim James & friends (though she's not opening the NYC show)"

Andrew W.K. in Norway recently (more by BBG)

Andrew W.K., who recently set up a temporary Santos Party House in Norway, is now on his "I Get Wet" tour which hits Webster Hall in NYC for a show on April 2nd with Math the Band and Aleister X. Tickets are still available for that one.

Don't want to buy a ticket? Rather spend that money in a slot machine? Consider heading to CT on March 31st when he'll perform the album as part of a FREE SHOW at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den. The venue says "8pm. Come early. Seating is limited. Must be 21 or older."

Meanwhile Andrew will hit SXSW next week where his Austin schedule now includes a midnight slot on the official BrooklynVegan showcase! It looks like this:

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at Bar 96
8pm: Caged Animals
9pm: 2:54
10pm: The Young
11pm: Screaming Females
12am: Andrew W.K. (full band)
1am: Titus Andronicus

BrooklynVegan also has a Tuesday night official at the Belmont (with Daniel Johnston and Built to Spill - more details TBA), and a heavier one on Friday at Scoot Inn which is where Andrew W.K. is also playing on SXSW Thursday.

All AWK tour dates below...

Continue reading "Andrew W.K. playing FREE 'I Get Wet' show @ Mohegan Sun, added to BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Rachel Kowal

Fanfarlo @ Webster Hall


After hearing their 2009 debut, Reservoir, I thought I had Fanfarlo pegged, but as the bridge on the cover of their recently released album suggests, the pop folk darlings are venturing into a new sonic territory. Sure, they're still as charming as ever, but as I learned when I saw them play at Glasslands last October, they've begun to grow teeth.

But before Fanfarlo took the stage at Webster Hall last night (3/6), Young Man and Nightlands played quick sets. I enjoyed Chicago's Young Man when I saw them open for label mates Local Natives at Governors Island a couple of summers ago, but sadly, they fell victim to an astonishingly terrible mix at Webster Hall when within seconds of their first song, the sheer force of the bass drum launched an assault on the crowd and made me feel like an unwitting participant in an old Maxwell tapes ad. The bass was so overpowering and unbearable that people around me actually broke concert cool to clasp their hands over their ears in a desperate attempt to preserve their hearing. Hopefully they fare better at SXSW.

Following Young Man's Richter Scale-tipping performance, Nightlands, the second act, hardly registered as a blip on the radar. For the Philly trio, a harp - not drums - rounded out the mix and offered a much-needed respite from the bass drum of death. Given what we had just witnessed with Young Man's set, the ultra-chill and beautifully melodic Nightlands seemed wildly out of place. Then again, Fanfarlo definitely seems to have its hand in a couple of pots, combining the quiet, safe side of orchestral folk pop with their newer, more experimental sound. (Experimental for them, anyway.)

After a long set change, Fanfarlo kicked off their performance with the surprisingly edgy "Replicate," one of the stand out tracks on Rooms Filled with Light thanks to singer Simon Balthazar's staccato vocals and the quick blasts of keys that drive the song. I grimaced earlier when I saw the sound guy drag the mic stand closer to the bass drum, but luckily, the percussion - though still a bit too loud in the mix - was restrained. The band's new material has a sparse, scientific quality that calls attention to each delicate violin solo or assertive trumpet interlude. Absent from last night's show were the usual melodicas, mandolins, glockenspiels, and singing saws.

And yet, despite the band's adoption of cooler aesthetic on their latest release (randomly projected images replaced the whimsical lights and colorful flags that adorned the stage during their Reservoir tour), their performance, which included a good mix of their older songs, still radiates warmth. Balthazar hasn't lost that endearing swagger to his voice, and I have to say the addition of the impromptu Swedish lesson ("Skål!" Balthazar said as he raised his bottle of wine) was pretty adorable.

Another thing that certainly hasn't changed for Fanfarlo is their penchant for the gradual build-up. The tension in their new material is palpable, but somehow, though they've turned up the heat on the last album, they maintain a tight rein on the music, opting to substitute keyboard solos or occasional taps on a drum machine in the place of a rocking guitar riff or a more traditional breakdown. Looking around Webster Hall, I almost chuckled. The urge to dance is clearly in the air, but without the big moments, the audience's movement is comically limited to polite foot tapping and an insistent, but mild-mannered bobbing. And though I might have longed for them to let it all go, it's that careful restraint in that individuates Fanfarlo and has me longing for more. Given the natural progression on their first two albums, I'm already looking forward to what comes next. It's only a matter of time before that pot boils over.

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We're happy to announce that Fanfarlo will be playing "Hotel Vegan" (at Hotel Vegas) at SXSW this year on Thursday, March 15th. Stay tuned for more details.

More pictures and the setlist from Webster Hall, below...

Continue reading "Fanfarlo played Webster Hall (pics, review), playing BV-SXSW"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Fenster - Fantasy II (MP3)

Fenster

Berlin-based trio Fenster are making their U.S. debut tonight (3/5) at Cake Shop. The band's charming, minimalist debut, Bones, is out next week on Morr Music. It's Sunday Morning Coming Down music with a little Beirut grandiosity to it at times. You can download "Fantasy II" from it at the top of this post and stream a couple more tracks below.

In addition to tonight's show Fenster will play Pianos on Wednesday (3/7) with Doe Paoro, then head to SXSW and then on the other side will be back in NYC for shows at Ars Nova on March 29 and the Knitting Factory on April 4. All Fenster tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Daytona

Tonight's show, as well as the Knitting Factory date in April are with Daytona, which features Jose Boyer who is also in Harlem and Hunter Simpson of Wild Yaks. The Brooklyn trio's rounded out by drummer Christopher Lauderdale. All three sing. You can stream their debut EP at the bottom of this post -- it's definitely different than either Harlem or Wild Yaks. (Plaintive but poppy indie rock.) In addition to the two dates with Fenster, Daytona are also playing Littlefield on March 21 (opening for Ed Askew), plus some out of town dates as well, all of which are below.

Continue reading "Fenster are here, playing NYC before & after SXSW, sometimes with Daytona (dates)"

photos by Ryan Muir

G N' R @ The Ritz

Guns N' Roses (Axl Rose, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Chris Pitman, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal) completed a short intimate tour that mostly happened in NYC in February. It hit Roseland Ballrooom, Terminal 5, Webster Hall (which they renamed 'The Ritz'), Hiro Ballroom, House of Blues in Atlantic City, and Chicago's House of Blues along the way.

They played over 30 songs at Webster Hall, starting around midnight and ending after 3am, working in almost anything you would want to hear including a handful of covers like the James Bond theme, Pink Panther theme, "Riff Raff" by AC/DC, and their usual takes on "Live and Let Die" and Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." The full setlist is below, along with more pictures and a video from the 2/15 Webster Hall show that the Toilet Boys opened.

The band's next show is Monday (3/5) in Miami which is followed by some California shows which all happen before SXSW which is where GN'R member Tommy Stinson (formerly of the Replacements) will play at least six solo shows. Tommy then heads out on a short East Coast tour with Kurt Baker in April which hits Union Hall in Brooklyn on April 12. Guns N' Roses head to Europe for a tour later this year.

All tour dates (GNR, Tommy Stinson AND Slash too), more pictures and the other stuff, below...

Continue reading "pics of Guns N' Roses @ 'The Ritz'; Tommy Stinson tour dates"

To quote this week's This Week in Indie,

Sunday night (3/4) at Bowery Ballroom is the NYC debut of Swedish duo Korallreven, one half of which is The Radio Dept.'s Daniel Tjäder. I like their debut album a lot, all lush, synth-driven dream pop but, like a lot of music like this, I wonder how they're going to make it an interesting concert experience. I envision two guys behind laptops and keyboards bobbing their heads and singing, with some projections and hopefully smoke machines. Maybe they could move the downstairs couches to the main room? Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see. I'm sure it will sound great in any case. If you haven't heard them yet, you can download "Sa Sa Samoa" in regular and remixed form at the top of this post and watch the video at the bottom of this post. Also playing: Lemonade and Young Magic.

Continue reading "Korallreven are here (WIN TIX), playing BV party @ SXSW"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Hospitality @ Public Assembly for BV-CMJ in October 2011

Hospitality's tour with Tennis hits Bowery Ballroom for a sold out NYC show tonight (3/3). If you don't have tickets, you can still buy one for the show happening Monday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg (3/5), and you can catch Hospitality (without Tennis) for FREE in New Haven, CT at Bar on Wednesday (3/7).

You can also catch Hospitality for free at the BrooklynVegan day party happening March 15th at Hotel Vegas in Austin, part of our four day 'Hotel Vegan' extravaganza during SXSW. Stay tuned for more details including the full lineup for that.

Maybe you caught Hospitality for free when they played the Friday BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly during CMJ this year. Here are some pictures from that Brooklyn performance. More of them, with all tour dates (stint with Eleanor Friedberger included), below...

Continue reading "Hospitality on tour w/ Tennis, playing free show in CT, playing BV-SXSW 2012, played BV-CMJ 2011 (pics & dates)"